Clients are being tougher in negotiations on fees and are calling for greater price transparency from law firms, according to consultants and U.K. law firm partners, as economic pressures force general counsel to drive a harder bargain for legal advice.

There has been ”a fundamental shift in the last couple of years” in the way law firms deal with pricing, according to Richard Burcher, founder of legal services pricing consultancy Validatum, who said that right now his business is “busier than ever in living memory”.